Five photographs are nailed to the wall at Lumen Gallery in Mikszáth Square. I had never been there, so when I saw the venue I thought it was a lift with five pictures, and hat it would take me up to the exhibition. The primary message of the two clean and young Dutch – Jan Adriaans and Babette Kleijn – is that you can take a photo about almost anything, as you may take delight in everything. At first sight, I cannot take delight, so that message is really important. For this very reason.

No bombastic experience offered, no crucified man in sight, no atomic bomb, no crying, no laughing. I see things that these two Western Europeans, with half their lives spent in calm, have found. We talked for about half an hour, and they moved only slightly but smiled nicely, and talked about their works as if they were not theirs but e.g. mine. But that did not matter, the works were there, someone had brought them up from the deep so that we could admire them. My mind let me down, so I began to admire. I could think of anything. That was good about it. I thought of my daughter, she takes photos, too, asks for my camera and, holding it upside down, she switches the buttons. Her pictures could have been put on display here, but Jan and Babette do not know me or my daughter, so they exhibited different ones but as good. My next thought was that when my daughter exhibited her photos I should look at them with similar admiration. Jan and Babette are very kind, and they answer every single question, let me highlight Babette here.

I have questions like “Are these photos the works themselves or images of other works?”  They say these are the works. Then I ask “What three words would you add to these?” Babette mentions Baroque, Secession, and… I can’t recall third. What comes to my mind is that these are highly important works by not-so-important artists. Or the other way round.